TVH Weekly: Ray Ball, Sean Duggan, Demetrius Hart, MSU Visitors

Rolling into the sixth week already Michigan's recruiting has started to pick up steam. This week's and next week's games will both be big for visitors. We could (should?) see a few commitments along the way. Here's an update on a few prospects with a look at the visitors this weekend scheduled so far.

Ray Ball

6'5", 320 lbs.

Offensive Tackle

Westerville, Ohio

Ray has been on Michigan's radar for awhile now, and it had seemed as though Wisconsin was the school to beat. Michigan is still looking to add a few offensive linemen to this class and Ball is one of those targets.

I would say that Michigan and Wisconsin are tied at the top right now. Once I go up to both schools I will know who is where on my leader board. I'm visiting Wisconsin on October 16th, and I haven't set it up yet but I think the Illinois game will be the best for my official to Michigan.

Ray said that his decision will come down to who has more to offer and who comes out with a bang on his visit. Wisconsin's visit could vault them ahead of Michigan, but if he takes his visit to Wisconsin and doesn't commit then M should have a good shot. Ball may be competing with Chris Bryant for the final offensive line slot in the class.

Sean Duggan

6'4", 215 lbs.

Outside Linebacker

Cincinnati, Ohio

Michigan is also looking for a few linebackers in this class, and Sean Duggan is a target. Duggan has somewhat pushed his recruitment to the back burner to focus on school and his team. He has started to set up his official visits though.

I'm going to Boston College on the weekend of the Clemson game, and Michigan either the first or second week of December. Depending on if I'm still playing or not, I'll go up to Duke and Virginia after my season.

Wisconsin was removed from his final list because they're full at his position. So Michigan is in the top four and will get a visit. I think they have some ground to make up on Boston College but it definitely helps that Wisconsin is no longer in the picture. You can tell by Duggan's list that he's a serious about academics.

Demetrius Hart

5'8", 190 lbs.

Running Back

Orlando, Florida

Demetrius is making his final decision on Friday of this week. He'll be notifying the coaches of each school if he'll be playing for them next season. This is hard for me because I can't really share a lot of info this close to a decision.

I know that's not what any of you want to hear, but I don't want to ruin anything for Demetrius. I've been saying this for awhile now, and it's not speculation, Auburn is not as big of a threat as people are saying. I have a call scheduled with the family today, so I'll share what they allow me to, but don't expect a lot before the decision. I don't really like giving hints about where he's going, but I will let you know of any negatives to watch out for.

Extra:

I will create a separate list in the diaries for this, but here are the visitors (that I have confirmed so far) coming in for the game this weekend. You'll notice that Kris Frost is not on this list. He's not sure if he's going to make it or not. He wants his parents there, and they're not sure if they can make the trip.:

Devondrick Nealy (5'10", 175 lbs., Running Back/Slot) Jefferson County/Florida - Nealy said when he received his Michigan offer that it was "One of the biggest scholarships yet," and that he was very excited. Michigan is recruiting him more for a slot receiver and he has a top four of Arkansas, Auburn, Michigan, and Minnesota (yeah, Minnesota). He doesn't plan on making his decision until the end of the year.

Marquise Williams (6'3", 218 lbs, Quarterback) Mallard Creek/North Carolina - Williams is a North Carolina commit and friend of Michigan target Kris Frost. I spoke with Williams about the NCAA allegations and how it effects North Carolina and he didn't seem too thrilled about what was happening. This is an odd situation because Michigan currently has QB Kevin Sousa committed.

Kellen Jones - Michigan commit.

Jack Miller - Michigan commit.

Jake Fisher - Michigan commit.

Kishon Wilcher - Cass Tech athlete and son of Cass Tech head coach Thomas Wilcher. He does not have an offer from Michigan, and thinks they want him to walk on. He's not sure if he would be willing to do that because he doesn't want his parents to have to pay for college. He does have a Toledo offer.

As always thanks Tom, and despite what I want to say I think its great that you can earn the confidence of kids like Dee Hart (and their families) by being very judicious in the info you make public. Having said that I won't ask anything about Dee but was curious about Kris Frost, is it still more or less a final two with Aubrun slightly ahead of us? If his parents can't make it this weekend, when would they make it up? At this point best guess 50/50 we land him or better or worse?

When I first read on Dee, I thought you were saying, "I know the decision is not what any of you want to hear." I was like, DAAAAAMMMMMMMEhhh? Oh... It's not what we want to hear that you can't tell us."

Yeah, definitely let these kids have it their own way. They've earned it.

I recall an article over the summer that he was not "feeling the love" from the coaches (I recall that it was during a dead period) - I assume that his frequent trips to the big house this year mean that sentiment has evaporated.

This will be an interesting story to watch play out. We have a nice relationship with that program, through his dad. What position would he be slotted for? What long-term affect would pushing him to walk-on have with his dad? Is it a walk-on at Michigan vs MAC scholarship, or does he have a lot of options?

Tom, when you speak to the Harts, tell them to log onto MGoBlog and see the kind of love we're giving him here. I'll hazard a guess that he's not getting this kind of love at any other school (not that other schools don't like him). He'll immediately be welcomed into the Wolverine family!

So Frost may have to push back his visit? Alot of things haven't been falling our way with Frost lately. Auburn has ratched up the pressure on Frost, and we can't seem to get the kid onto campus lately (very understandable circumstances though). I think Auburn might pull away with this one, with the distance factor and Frost's good relationship with Auburn coach that's recruiting him. Still need another MLB for this class, so not sure much other realistic options out there.

IMO the biggest part of this weekend's visits is strengthening our relationship with Jenkins-Stone and Richardson from Cass Tech.

Also very glad to hear that Wisconsin is off Duggan's list. I thought they were the biggest threat. B.C.'s ahead but the stench of that team will be even more pungent in December while we'll finish looking like the turnaround team of '10.

I understand that, so if Duggan wants a Catholic college so bad he's willing to play on a crap team, then we don't really have a shot, and we can't sell against it. Hopefully going to a Catholic school isn't that high on his list.

Tom, thank you for having integrity. For some kids, the moment they announce their selection will be the pinnacle of their lives. Thank you for making it about them and not about us, which is exactly how it should be.

His facebook post is probably a good sign...it's gonna be hard for any tb to NOT want a chance to pay in this offense. And it helps that we are on tv every week...and the highlight reels are going crazy with our players.

Now if we can just get his 2 safety teammates to change their minds and come with...

Dee would be a huge get for us, but at this point all I'm worried about is the D. Can we limit the transfers and get players in that we know will qualify academically? The D is young, but if people continue to transfer/don't qualify then we'll always be young and inexperienced. With Shoelace at Q for the next 2 1/2 years the offense will be near unstoppable. My question is can we find some LBs that can read a play and shed blocks? Can the frosh DBs from this year develop enough to be solid next year? With an offense like ours all we need is a mediocre D and we'll win 9 games, a good D and it becomes 10-12.